


out like a light

by foghaslifted



Category: Rapunzel's Tangled Adventure (Cartoon), Tangled (2010)
Genre: Angst, Episode: s03e13 Cassandra's Revenge, F/M, Grief/Mourning, I wrote this at 5 am, whoops
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-20
Updated: 2020-12-20
Packaged: 2021-03-10 20:22:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,640
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28203069
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/foghaslifted/pseuds/foghaslifted
Summary: After letting go of the final incantation, Rapunzel looked around the remains of Cassandra's tower, looking for some indication that Eugene was okay.She didn't find one.What she found instead was him lying motionless on the floor across the room.
Relationships: Eugene Fitzherbert | Flynn Rider/Rapunzel
Comments: 5
Kudos: 49





	out like a light

**Author's Note:**

> title inspired by Out Like a Light by The Honeysticks
> 
> edit from like a month later: so i just want to say that i was not exactly in a good place when i wrote this so its very "hm i'm sad. guess i'll kill my favorite character." and i'm not very proud of it but i don't like deleting the things i write, so i just wanted to let you all know that this isn't the same as my other fics but if you like to see eugene die then by all means read ahead

Rapunzel spoke the last words of the final incantation, feeling the energy coursing through her. She couldn’t focus on anything happening around her, she just let the incantation do whatever it was doing and hoped for the best.

In a final burst of light, she tried to take in her surroundings. Cassandra had disappeared from her line of vision. She couldn’t tell what happened, but she felt the power from the incantation starting to leave her and chose to believe that was a good sign.

After the final incantation had completely let her go, she collapsed to the ground. She let herself lie there for only a few moments before she realized there were more pressing matters.

“Eugene?” she called out, looking around. He didn’t answer. “Eugene?!” she tried again. She frantically whipped her head around, looking for some indication that he was okay.

She didn’t find one.

What she saw instead was his motionless body on the floor across from her. “Eugene!” She pulled herself to her feet as quickly as she could and stumbled towards him. “No no no no no, Eugene, please,” she whispered as she drew near.

He was lying there, unmoving. She felt her stomach lurch. He had to be okay. She didn’t know what she would do if…

She put her head to his chest, trying to listen for a heartbeat. Nothing. She grabbed his wrist and checked for a pulse. Still nothing.

She held back her sobs as she cupped his face in her hands. “Please, please, come back,” she begged. He didn’t answer. She squeezed her eyes shut and shook her head. This was all a dream, right? She would wake up soon and he would be there.

Her throat was closing up and her eyes were burning with tears. She didn’t even know  _ how  _ it happened. He was being crushed by Cassandra’s rocks, then Varian gave her the incantation, then everything was a blur from there. 

Did the incantation do this? 

_ Was I the one that killed him? _

She could no longer contain her sobs. Tears ran down her face like rain and she couldn’t stop them.

In a last ditch effort, she grabbed her hair and spread it over his body.  _ This has to work. It’s going to work.  _

She took a deep breath, then started to sing. “ _ Flower gleam and glow…” _ she sang the familiar incantation for the first time since… since the first time this had happened. She thought about how much had changed since then. It had hurt more than anything to lose him then, and now she had to go through it all again.

“ _ What once was mine,”  _ she sang, finishing the incantation. She slowly opened her eyes, hoping he would be back. Nothing had changed. He was still lying there just as cold as before.

She sang it again.

And again.

_ “Well, I can think of at least one wish I’d like to have come true in the very near future,”  _ his voice echoed in her mind.

She wiped away the tears that continued to make their way down her face and sang the incantation again.

_ “You were going to ask me? I mean, I was going to ask you!” _

She continued to sing the incantation. It had to work eventually. If she just kept going it would work, he would come back.

_ “You were my new dream.” _

Panic rose up in her chest. She was drowning. Everything was spinning around her and she couldn’t do anything about it. This couldn’t be the end. She didn’t get the chance to say goodbye or even just see him one last time. The world was slowly falling to pieces. 

She continued to sing the healing incantation over and over until her throat ran dry.

_ “Fl-flower gleam and- and-”  _ she sang, her voice hoarse. She felt like she still needed to cry, but she had run out of tears long ago. She pulled him closer to her chest. He was gone. She didn’t have the same healing powers she once had.

She took a shaky breath and looked around. How long had she been there, singing and sobbing over his lifeless body? The sun was long gone from the sky. 

Lance, Varian, and the girls were sitting near her, but she wasn’t sure when they got there. 

She hadn’t noticed anything happening around her. All she could think about was the fact that Eugene’s body was starting to grow colder and there was nothing she could do about it.

She looked up at Lance, who had tears streaming down his face as well. When he saw that she was looking at her, he opened his arms. She let out another sob as she ran over to him and he engulfed her in a hug.

“He- he’s- I can’t-” she stuttered, her whole body shaking.

“I’m so sorry, Princess,” Lance said softly. She stayed wrapped in his arms for a few moments, distantly hoping that when she turned back to Eugene he would be okay again.  _ But he won’t be,  _ a cruel voice in her head said.  _ This is your fault. You chose to use an incantation you knew nothing about, and look where it got you.  _ She tried to push the thoughts away, but they kept coming back, more bitter every time until they morphed into a hauntingly familiar voice.

_ “Now look what you’ve done, Rapunzel.” _

She quietly pulled away from Lance’s hug and looked towards Varian, Keira, and Catalina. All three of them seemed to be in shock. No one knew what to do or where to go from here. 

He had always been there for everyone and now…

Keira was the first of the three kids to start crying. She ran into Rapunzel’s arms, and Catalina was soon to follow. Rapunzel held the girls close as they held on tightly to her. 

Varian was still staring blankly at Eugene’s unmoving body, like any minute he would stand up and tell them it was all an elaborate joke. 

The world stood still around them. Rapunzel once again drew closer to Eugene’s body after letting go of Keira and Catalina. She grabbed his hand and laced their fingers together, trying her best to ignore how cold his hands were. She brushed his hair away from his face the way he had done to her so many times. She could almost feel the way he would wrap his arms around her and kiss her forehead.

She sobbed for the thousandth time, but her tears had run dry. There was nothing else she could do. 

They all sat there silently for what felt like centuries. 

Varian was the first to break the silence. “He was my childhood hero. I still remember how I felt when THE Flynn Rider walked into my lab for the first time,” he said with a weak laugh.

“He’s like a brother to me. He always looked out for me, even when he swore he didn’t care,” Lance recounted, forcing a half smile.

“He was the first person to really care about me,” Keira lamented through tears. Catalina grabbed her sister's hand wordlessly and rested her head on her shoulder.

Rapunzel stayed quiet. She didn’t know where to begin to describe everything he meant to her.

_ “You’re my light, you’re my best friend.” _

_ “I’ve always believed in us. I’ve always believed in you.” _

_ “You were my new dream.” _

He always knew how to say it. She wished she could tell him everything she was feeling, wished she could hear him say something to melt her heart again.

“I don’t know where I would be without him,” she said brokenly. “He means so much to me, and- and he’s always been right by my side.” Lance rubbed her arm comfortingly as she let her head fall, burying her face in her hands.

_ “I don’t know what my future holds, but I know you were meant to be in it,”  _ she heard her own voice say. 

Everything was starting to feel numb, as if her body couldn’t take it anymore. Like she couldn’t go on without him. 

“Rapunzel,” Varian blurted. “I, uh… thought you might want this back,” he said sheepishly, handing her the ring she had given him earlier. 

She bit her lip and looked at the ring. It felt like it was mocking her, like a symbol of what could have been. Just a few hours ago, she was standing next to him at his birthday party, a hopeful smile on her face as she started to pull that ring out to propose.

She slowly took it from him, offering a small smile. “Thank you, Varian.”

It felt like the world was playing a cruel joke on them. The first birthday he ever had and  _ this  _ is what happened. They were both ready to plan for their future together. She hoped that they would soon just be able to peacefully live out their lives in Corona. Together. She had never bothered imagining a future without him in it. 

She turned back to Eugene and gently slipped the ring onto his finger. She kissed his hand and looked at him with tears in her eyes. “I love you,” she whispered. “Thank you. For everything.”

She looked over to her friends, each of them wearing the same dejected look she had. 

_ “You, more than anyone I’ve ever known, are able to take any situation and make the best of it.” _

She sighed. There was no “best” of this situation. He was gone. It was over. But she looked up and the sun was starting to rise in the sky. 

_ It’s not over.  _ She might not be able to get Eugene back, but he would always be with her. She tightened her grip on his hand and mustered a weak smile. 

She was going to finish this. For him.

  
  


**Author's Note:**

> sorry


End file.
